Alan Pittman, March 22, 1996

THEODORE R. KULONGOSKI
AITORNEY GENERAL
Alan Pittman
EUGENE WEEKLY
1251 Lincoln
Eugene, OR 97401
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
1162 Court Street NE
Justice Building
Salem, Oregon 97310
Telephone: (503) 378-1400
mo: (503) 378-5938
March 22, 1996
Re: Petition for Public Records Disclosure Order:
University of Oregon Records
Dear Mr. Pittman:
THOMAS A. BALMER
DEPUTY ATIOR."JEY GENERAL
This letter is the Attorney General's order on your petition for disclosure of records
under the Oregon Public Records Law, ORS 192.410 to 192.505. Your petition, which we
received on March 15, 1996, asks the Attorney General to direct the University of Oregon to
make available "any and all records relating to the UO's (state's) settlement of the sexual
harassment case of David Reed v. Gerry Mosely and the University of Oregon (#16-95-
08552). For the reasons that follow, we respectfully deny your petition.
In general, a public body such as the University of Oregon may not enter into a
settlement agreement that, by its terms, requires the agreement to be kept confidential. ORS
30.402(1). However, a court may order the terms and conditions of a settlement or
compromise to which a public body is a party to be confidential upon written findings "that
specific privacy interests of a private individual outweigh the public's interest in the terms of
the settlement or compromise." ORS 30.402(2).
In Reed v. Mosely, the court found:
Releasing the details of the settlement would not be conducive to the pursuit of
[plaintiff's] educational goals. Therefore, pursuant to ORS 30.402(2), the
Court finds that the specific privacy interest of the plaintiff far out-weigh the
public's interest in the terms of the settlement as read into the record,
therefore
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the terms of the settlement recited
herein shall remain confidential, and the record wilI be sealed until further
order of the Court.
Order Sealing Transcript, dated March 20, 1996, nunc pro tune to January 29, 1996 (copy
enclosed).
Alan Pittman
Page 2
March 22, 1996
ORS 192.502(8) exempts from disclosure "[p]ublic records or information the
disclosure of which is prohibited or restricted or otherwise made confidential or privileged
under Oregon law." A settlement agreement made confidential by the court pursuant to ORS
30.402(2) is "confidential or privileged under Oregon law" and, therefore, exempt from
disclosure under the Public Records Law. ORS 192.502(8).
In light of the court order in this case, we conclude that the records you seek are
exempt from disclosure under ORS 192.502(8). This includes both the specific terms and
conditions of the settlement and any records that may tend to disclose the terms of the
settlement, such as canceled checks or disbursement records. For these reasons, we deny
your petition to compel disclosure. 11
ESH:KLK:AV/jpl:JGGOD6A5
Enclosure
c: Peter N. Swan
Assistant to the President for Legal Affairs
University of Oregon
Sincerely,
~LY/n~
ELIZABETH S. HARCHENKO
Special Counsel
to the Attorney General
11 In your petition, you requested that "the AG disclose any ex parte communications with the UO
regarding this records request before a final determination is made." The Administrative Procedures
Act (APA), ORS 183.310 to 183.550, requires ex parte communications on a fact in issue to be
disclosed on the record. A petition for a public records order is not subject to the APA, and no
analogous requirement is included in the Public Records Law, ORS 192.410 to ORS 192.505.
Moreover, the Attorney General is required to contact the public body whose records have
been requested and the public body is required to transmit to the Attorney General the record that is
the subject of the petition and a statement of the public body's reasons that the record should not be
disclosed. ORS 192.470(2). In order to fulfill his responsibilities under that statute, the Attorney
General's standard practice upon receipt of a petition for a public records order is to discuss with the
affected agency the content of the requested record and the agency's reasons for not disclosing it.
Upon learning from Peter Swan, the University's Assistant to the President for Legal Affairs, that the
court had entered an order sealing the terms of the settlement, we contacted the court to obtain a copy
of that order.

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THEODORE R. KULONGOSKI
AITORNEY GENERAL
Alan Pittman
EUGENE WEEKLY
1251 Lincoln
Eugene, OR 97401
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
1162 Court Street NE
Justice Building
Salem, Oregon 97310
Telephone: (503) 378-1400
mo: (503) 378-5938
March 22, 1996
Re: Petition for Public Records Disclosure Order:
University of Oregon Records
Dear Mr. Pittman:
THOMAS A. BALMER
DEPUTY ATIOR."JEY GENERAL
This letter is the Attorney General's order on your petition for disclosure of records
under the Oregon Public Records Law, ORS 192.410 to 192.505. Your petition, which we
received on March 15, 1996, asks the Attorney General to direct the University of Oregon to
make available "any and all records relating to the UO's (state's) settlement of the sexual
harassment case of David Reed v. Gerry Mosely and the University of Oregon (#16-95-
08552). For the reasons that follow, we respectfully deny your petition.
In general, a public body such as the University of Oregon may not enter into a
settlement agreement that, by its terms, requires the agreement to be kept confidential. ORS
30.402(1). However, a court may order the terms and conditions of a settlement or
compromise to which a public body is a party to be confidential upon written findings "that
specific privacy interests of a private individual outweigh the public's interest in the terms of
the settlement or compromise." ORS 30.402(2).
In Reed v. Mosely, the court found:
Releasing the details of the settlement would not be conducive to the pursuit of
[plaintiff's] educational goals. Therefore, pursuant to ORS 30.402(2), the
Court finds that the specific privacy interest of the plaintiff far out-weigh the
public's interest in the terms of the settlement as read into the record,
therefore
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the terms of the settlement recited
herein shall remain confidential, and the record wilI be sealed until further
order of the Court.
Order Sealing Transcript, dated March 20, 1996, nunc pro tune to January 29, 1996 (copy
enclosed).
Alan Pittman
Page 2
March 22, 1996
ORS 192.502(8) exempts from disclosure "[p]ublic records or information the
disclosure of which is prohibited or restricted or otherwise made confidential or privileged
under Oregon law." A settlement agreement made confidential by the court pursuant to ORS
30.402(2) is "confidential or privileged under Oregon law" and, therefore, exempt from
disclosure under the Public Records Law. ORS 192.502(8).
In light of the court order in this case, we conclude that the records you seek are
exempt from disclosure under ORS 192.502(8). This includes both the specific terms and
conditions of the settlement and any records that may tend to disclose the terms of the
settlement, such as canceled checks or disbursement records. For these reasons, we deny
your petition to compel disclosure. 11
ESH:KLK:AV/jpl:JGGOD6A5
Enclosure
c: Peter N. Swan
Assistant to the President for Legal Affairs
University of Oregon
Sincerely,
~LY/n~
ELIZABETH S. HARCHENKO
Special Counsel
to the Attorney General
11 In your petition, you requested that "the AG disclose any ex parte communications with the UO
regarding this records request before a final determination is made." The Administrative Procedures
Act (APA), ORS 183.310 to 183.550, requires ex parte communications on a fact in issue to be
disclosed on the record. A petition for a public records order is not subject to the APA, and no
analogous requirement is included in the Public Records Law, ORS 192.410 to ORS 192.505.
Moreover, the Attorney General is required to contact the public body whose records have
been requested and the public body is required to transmit to the Attorney General the record that is
the subject of the petition and a statement of the public body's reasons that the record should not be
disclosed. ORS 192.470(2). In order to fulfill his responsibilities under that statute, the Attorney
General's standard practice upon receipt of a petition for a public records order is to discuss with the
affected agency the content of the requested record and the agency's reasons for not disclosing it.
Upon learning from Peter Swan, the University's Assistant to the President for Legal Affairs, that the
court had entered an order sealing the terms of the settlement, we contacted the court to obtain a copy
of that order.